Ligand Pharmaceuticals Inc. develops and acquires a range of proprietary technologies that support pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies in discovering and developing new medicines. It operates as a single reportable segment focused on the development and licensing of biopharmaceutical assets. Ligand’s portfolio includes Captisol, Pelican Expression, HepDirect/LTP and BEPro, and the NITRICIL Technology Platform. Captisol is a patented, chemically modified cyclodextrin designed to improve the stability, solubility, dosing, and bioavailability of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), enabling the creation of new drug products. Captisol has been used in several FDA-approved therapies, including Veklury (Gilead), Kyprolis (Amgen), Nexterone (Baxter), Evomela (Acrotech Biopharma/CASI Pharmaceuticals), Baxdela (Melinta Therapeutics), and Zulresso (Sage Therapeutics). Captisol-enabled drugs are sold in over 70 countries, and Ligand works with around 50 partners developing additional Captisol-based products. NITRICIL uses nitric oxide’s natural antimicrobial and immunomodulatory properties to create therapies for unmet needs across multiple therapeutic areas. The platform supports adjustable dosing and controlled-release formulations for a wide range of indications and is currently being applied to ZELSUVMI. HepDirect/LTP is a liver-targeted prodrug platform that delivers various drug classes to the liver by chemically modifying an API so it remains inactive until it is cleaved by a liver-specific enzyme. This approach can improve efficacy and safety and can be applied to both marketed and new drugs for liver diseases and conditions linked to liver-regulated circulating molecules. BEPro extends Ligand’s prodrug capabilities beyond liver-focused applications and is particularly suited to nucleotides and nucleotide analogs, with the goal of improving overall compound performance. Pelican Expression Technology is a recombinant protein production platform intended for manufacturing complex proteins at large scale.

Ligand has developed a diverse portfolio through research and acquisitions, focusing on a wide range of underlying technologies. This diversification allows the company to benefit from exposure to a broader spectrum of scientific innovation, increased licensing opportunities, and reduced impact from individual patent expirations. The company has established major technology alliances with partners such as Merck, Amgen, and Sanofi, contributing to its robust pipeline. Some of its pipeline products include BOT/BAL in Phase 2 under the Oncology therapy area, D-Fi in Phase 3 under the Rare Disease therapy area, Ensifentrine in Phase 2 under the Respiratory Disease therapy area, QTORIN rapamycin 3.9% in Phase 3 under the Rare Disease therapy area, Lasofoxifene in Phase 3 under the Oncology therapy area, Sparsentan in Phase 3 under the Kidney Disease therapy area, and VK2809 in Phase 2 under the Hepatology therapy area. Other pipeline products include ACLX-001, ACLX-002, ANEB-001, CE-furosemide, CE-Meloxicam, Frovatriptan, MB07133, NEXTERONE, Pradefovir, SESQUIENT, Vilazodone, and Voriconazole, among others. In FY2025, the company spent US$81.1 million on R&D, which as a percentage of revenue, stood at 30.2%.